Archive for June, 2017

This movie was a big hit in 1971, for its music and the rising market value of Mehmood as an actor who sells. Said to be a remake of a Tamil Hit by Tamil comedian Nagesh, this movie did very well with Mehmood in lead.

As an actor Mehood was a veteran in movies, and had played all shades in his nearly 15-16 years of career till then. In CID he plays a negative character, in Chote Nawab an innocent nawab, in Beti Bete and Choti Behan he plays very important characters sharing equal and sometimes greater footage than the lead actor.

Mehmood kept growing from strength to strength with whatever opportunity he got or he created for himself. His synergy with producers and directors from South has been great from Choti Behan days. He was a scene stealer and many a leading stars were apprehensive to share screen space with him.

This movie showcases Mehmood in all possible shades from a poor buck teethed waiter to a super star in cinema.
As a Shankar Jaikishan fan, this movie was a great hit in a year which had 17 releases for this composer duo. 1969 became a watershed year in HFM, with the unprecedented success of Aradhana and Do Raste when the first Super Star of Hindi cinema hit the skies, and two composers Sachin Deb Burman and Lakshmikant Pyarelal suddenly appeared to be rising on the horizon.

All the previous stars were fading into insignificance and with them an era was coming to an end. Shankar Jaikishan were rediscovering and re-engineering their style and trend. Main Sundar Hun was one such movie which was a clear shift and direction. Anand Bakshi had written all the songs for this movie, as he was the new star of lyricists on the horizon with no one to match at that level.

The old lyricists were going strong, but it was like Sachin Tendulkar making his entry and stealing the thunder right under nose of all veterans present in the team. Jaikishan who is seen in this movie , in the recording studios had read the writing on the wall and forged this alliance. Jaikshan who was in his 40s had a lot more to contribute to the industry with his maturing as a composer, and his congenital mastery over learning new things in a jiffy.

Shankar Jaikishan were ready to rewrite a new chapter in the films, as they had some fabulous hits which included the Binaca Chart buster from Andaaz..

BUT….

Main Sundar hun is a movie of those times when major changes were happening and were in store to happen..
It will remain as a movie when one saw Jaikishan for the last time..

Like this:

Come rain come shine , he has to be in S J hall , sitting with his baja , composing & singing . with song papers strewn all around him .
Whether there is a recording or not , his compositions will go on , collecting many wonderful tunes which would be stored in his memory bank to be brought out in full excellence for a proper situation , in future .
A whole range of different , new new patterns will take birth .
Tukhda tukhda mukhdas , jumpy mukhdas , gliding mukhdas , so on & so forth .

Sebastianji will come with his illustrious violin .
He was not one of the best .. he was the best.
He & S J fitted hand in glove .
He was the one who could write all those awesome pieces which Shankerji would go on bringing out , pieces coming out like Akash Ganga coming down pouring , his fingers moving on the reeds in lightning speed .
I am sure Seb must have made up his own shorthand to write all Shankerji’s overflowing music pieces . Piece after piece after piece come out dancing …All wonderful melodious , tuning in with the song pieces … not any noisy gimmicks or tricky fooling technics .

For how many songs you are making music , Shanker sab? We are doing just one song now & you have already made music for atleast a dozen songs !
By the way , where did you get this amazing baja from ?
Can you give us the address ?

Out of an array of pieces required amount of pieces will be selected .

These pieces cannot be played in a straight manner .
Each & every piece has to be charged with fire , with proper punch , push & kick . Lots of little little details have to be lovingly taken care of……… This is what that makes S J orchestra special .
The idea is to hook your heart & pull it towards the music .
Your heart will not fall easily for any ordinary formation of music which goes filling in the blanks with sargam exercises ..will it ?

Each piece starts zooming up with a jerk ….
Shankerji will play in the same manner he wants in the orchestra ,
with a jerk he will start , Ta ra ra ra cut again with a jerk ta ra ra ra cut .. then the sound will go soft , slowly going louder reaching full punch , ta ra ra ra cut ta ra ra ra ..

All this variations he will play fully in his baja . Seb would write exactly the same in his papers& play them in his violin pronto & later they would come in the orchestra with the same jerks & waves Shankerji’s fingers have played ..

In’Jaane chaman , the intro music goes in a run going up & up.
Ta ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ta ra ra ra ra ra ra ra
The first ta ra ra ra starts with a jerk , then the second with another jerk then the third then the music goes climbing & heaving like a jumbo taking off bending this way & that way.. then going soft & fading …

S J violins are monumental in Indian music history .
See , how they have all come out to live in your heart for ever , for you to love , cherish & adore ….

How the first bow should hit the violin bridge , where the bows should go aggressively . where they should go soft , where they should go skidding , where they should go in long bows . where they should go in short bows , where they should go in runs & what sort of runs , soft to loud or loud to soft , runs in single bow & cut bows , where should the cuts come & if there are any finger pluckings how they should come ………..Each & every small thing comes out of his baja…..

Other solo instruments’ pieces also come out alive in full bloom , whether it is a Sax , accordian electric guitar or any other .
Where the grace should come , where the full power should be applied , where they should go soft , the breaks , the cuts all expressions of the solo instruments he plays , his right hand fingers with the full brilliance of his soul functioning thro them , running on the keys & his left hand pushing the bellows with the right amount of force required making it like a human heart breathing thro the bellows .. with feeling ….

What is left for anyone to think of ?
Is there any place for more imagination ?

Is there so much in his baja ?
Is it an Amrit Kalash or what ?

Usually Music directors give all these expressions to the musicians by conducting , waving their hands in different gestures .Musicians know what move means what expression & they will go accordingly

But we have here is not any M D . We have Shankerji , the one & only , who can bring the whole orchestra in person in his this small treasure chest !
I dont think anywhere any composer could play like this all the expressions , intonations & variations of his orchestra in his musical instrument .
Composing is different & playing the music is something else ..

This is where the genius comes alive raising from the ocean of music carrying his Amrit Kalash , bringing pieces & combinations for a beyond the space orchestra , to conquer the world ..

Many western music giants have created great music .
They are all mainly classics & symphonies .
If they had to compose so many gems of songs of 3/4 minutes duration for movie situations , it is doubtful if they will ever come close to S J s creations ..

It is a great tragedy that I am the only one who have seen all these musical avalanches from his hands …… I thank God that after all these years I am able to bring all that out for you .

I am sure many others must have seen him & heard him play like this , sometime or other . Will any of them be gracious enough to come out & tell you ?
I heard some one say that Munna Aziz said amazed after hearing him play like this , ‘Shanker sab , you have brought the full orchestra here ‘

As a spectator of his musical downpours , I have witnessed him compose numerous songs in front of me , sometimes me singing the new tunes .
And many of those heart pulling pieces of Joker background , of which you go ga ga over &over again have taken birth long long before Joker was born . I have heard so many pieces of them being played many times in his baja getting stored in his music memory bank .
Mostly Shankersab composed major numbers of songs for a movie & Jaikishenji composed the rest & the background .
In some cases , Shankerji composed background music also for some movies, one of them being Joker .The other one I have watched him compose the full background score is movie ‘Pyar Mohabbat .There were some other movies also for which Shankerji composed background , but I am not sure about for which movies ..

I know there are many great harmonium players in India , some of them great in ragas , some in gazals & some in folks.
But there is no one like Shankerji who could play in all varieties , specially in modern , newwave western music. In which noone could , leave alone touch him , could not even come miles near him .Modern western music was a child’s play in his hands .He could have surely shown a thing or two to the western music masters ……………………………………

Hard to believe .. yes ?
Yes .. it is hard to believe for me also .. Me after seeing him play like this by my own eyes & hearing him play like this by my own ears ….Now remembering the sound my head goes round & round ..But I am telling you , believe me ,… …. I am not yunhi tarifing him just for the heck of it … I dont have to . What a genius he was is world known ….. But his this playing the music is beyond anyone’s imagination .
His fingers would do the Tandav Nritya of Bhagwan Shivji in his baja .
Never before , never after will there be anyone to play like this & create pieces like him .
God had made him & broken the mould !
Whatever have come out for us is only a fraction of his creations .
He should have come to the world in todays time .. he was so much ahead of time…………………………

The whole orchestra is completed in his baja .
The piano pieces he plays himself in the grand piano which stands in his hall ..
Only all these must be written & fixed with chords & brought out in the orchestra .

Some one was saying that some one was saying that Sebastian’s hands were there in making S J orchestra music..

What an uproarious laugh ?
This must be the joke of the millennium

For what in the world would they ever want anyone’s help ?
Would the sun need to take light from anyone ?

Shankerji had the full ocean of music in his fingers plus all the imagination of the world of music in his brains .
Jaisab also was the same .
What sort of a koodh will say such a thing ? ..
If this is not blatant malice & jealousy then what ?

As I had mentioned earlier in one of my posts , some M D s tell the musicians to play on their own filling the gaps in a song .
But not all M D s do that . Some great music directors have their own style of music & they compose the music for the song as per the tune & mood of the song .

The unparalleled phenomenon in music , the kings of kings in music , S J who were masters in all known varieties of music & wizards in the usage of all sorts of instruments …….who has brought a new wonderful dimension in music to India… whose magic goes on holding millions of all generations spell bound …………………would they need any help ?